Where did the time go?! Our last week in Melbourne seemed to fly by. Our Child Welfare and Children’s Mental Health program finished with a visit to beyondblue, an agency that provide
s support services for people experiencing depression and anxiety. Since 1 in 7 people in Australia has a mental health disorder, beyondblue makes it their goal to go to the heart of these disorders to make a real difference. The Perinatal Mental Health initiative particularly stood out to me because it deals with new and expecting families, a group of people I hope to work with in my future career as a medical professional. The perinatal period, conception to one year postnatal, is a very popular time for mothers and fathers to experience some sort of depression or anxiety. The beyond babyblues program focuses its efforts on prevention and early intervention of these mental health conditions. The agency works with the community, government, and service providers to make sure their resources reach the right groups of people at the right time. Since there is little awareness that dads experience prenatal and postpartum depression and anxiety, beyondblue has created resources for fathers to use to get the information they need. These resources address how a baby will influence not only a dad’s day to day life, but also his mental health and well-being. The Perinatal Mental Health initiative also aims at reducing the stigma surrounding pre- and postnatal depression and anxiety. For example, their website provides real stories from people who have had an experience with these perinatal mental health conditions. These resources offer comfort and motivation to people with similar mental health experiences. People are also able to upload their own stories to the beyondblue website. This initiative encourages parents to stand up against perinatal mental health conditions to help reduce the stigma and spread awareness.
Although this week was all about agency visits, we continued to explore all that Melbourne has to offer! On Monday, we traveled to the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower to view the city from all different angles. The wind tower nearly blew me away, but the view of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Olympic Parks and Cricket Grounds from way above was well worth it! Later in the week, we had a group dinner at Cider House to mark the end of our study abroad program and say a final farewell. After dinner, we all experienced Nitrogen (N2) Extreme Gelato for the firs time and it did not disappoint! I enjoyed the most scrumptious “Filthy Smore” cone that included chocolate gelato with chocolate chips, marshmallow, graham cracker, and a syringe full of chocolate syrup! This journey has taught me that everyday brings new opportunities. It is amazing the bonds you can form among a group of people in such a short period of time. Traveling has a unique way of connecting people. This has been a life-changing opportunity and I have this program, breathtaking country, and an outstanding group of people to thank for that! The memories that I have formed throughout this experience are everlasting. We are off to Sydney tomorrow! We are so excited to embark on even more adventures and make the most of what little time we have left in the Land Down Under!
